British singer Ed Sheeran doesn’t rely on music executives or industry insiders to tell him if a track will be a hit — he just asks his wife, Cherry Seaborn. While speaking on Not Gonna Lie, the podcast hosted by Kylie Kelce, the singer-songwriter opened up about his creative process and the quiet but powerful role Cherry plays in it. Ed said his wife has a sharp ear and often helps him decide which songs to release — but only if the timing is right.
“She has very good taste,” he said, adding that the 34-year-old is cautious when he plays her his latest material. If she’s not in a good mood, her reaction could be brutal. “Cherry can kill a song. If she’s not vibing with it, I just think of it as dead,” he admitted.
According to Ed, he writes a lot of songs in short bursts. But it’s Cherry who effortlessly cuts through the noise and spots the gems. One such instance was the day he came home after a productive session and played her a batch of demos. “When Bad Habits was written, I'd written a bunch of other songs that day,” he recalled. “And I remember I came home, I had listened to them all in the car and I was kind of excited about most of them and I played them to her and she was like, 'That one, that Bad Habits one. That's the one you should finish tomorrow',” he added.
{{/usCountry}}According to Ed, he writes a lot of songs in short bursts. But it’s Cherry who effortlessly cuts through the noise and spots the gems. One such instance was the day he came home after a productive session and played her a batch of demos. “When Bad Habits was written, I'd written a bunch of other songs that day,” he recalled. “And I remember I came home, I had listened to them all in the car and I was kind of excited about most of them and I played them to her and she was like, 'That one, that Bad Habits one. That's the one you should finish tomorrow',” he added.
{{/usCountry}}She also helped push Shivers into the spotlight — a track that eventually climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The British artist also tests his songs on a younger audience: his two daughters. He shared that both kids have taken a shine to Sapphire, a new track off his upcoming album Play. Kylie chimed in that her toddler has also declared Sapphire her “favorite song,” prompting Ed to grin and say, “I’m glad that kids are still into the music that I’m making.”
Currently traveling the world on his Mathematics Tour — which supports his previous albums Equals and Subtract — Ed’s next project Play is set to drop on September 12.